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Justin Gaethje revealed what his game plan is for his upcoming championship bout against Charles Oliveira at UFC 274.
'The Highlight' is confident that he'll win the striking battle if the fight remains on the feet. During a recent appearance on ESPN MMA's DC & RC Show, Gaethje claimed that he's well-equipped to handle a scenario in which Oliveira is the aggressor:
"I'm counting on him having that game plan – walking forward, trying to walk through the fire. [But] he will not be able to do that. There's no possible way. And every single fight that you watch, one of the first things that is being jockeyed for, trying to get leverage on is distance and space. I will win that battle. It often changes hands on who's winning, but ultimately, someone does win that battle and then that's the fight that we have to fight. So I'm not sure what fight we're fighting."
Ultimately, Gaethje doesn't think Oliveira will try to pursue him. The Safford, Arizona native is also confident that he'll have no trouble landing his shots. He added:
"I don't believe he's gonna move forward. I'm happy to move backwards cause I don't care what anybody says about moving backwards. I'm going to be elusive and I'm going to punch a hole in his face. He can't stop me from landing my shots."
Watch Justin Gaethje's interview below:
Justin Gaethje sends Charles Oliveira an ominous warning
Justin Gaethje is of the belief that Charles Oliveira's only path to victory is by forcing the fight to the ground. If it turns out to be a striking contest, Gaethje said, the Brazilian will suffer the same fate as Tony Ferguson:
"I think, yeah, he's gonna have to take it to the ground," Gaethje told Kevin Iole of Yahoo! Sports. "If not, he's gonna look like Tony Ferguson. His face is gonna look like Tony Ferguson's."
Watch the video below:
Gaethje put on a striking clinic against when he crossed paths with Ferguson in the main event of UFC 249. Only time will tell if he can do the same in his outing against 'Do Bronx', who has proven to be equally lethal with his hands as he is on the ground.
